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Bailiwick of Conti
}} Instrument of Government The Great Council is the legislative body of the Bailiwick. It consists of 100 members, referred to as Councillors, elected for a single five-year term. The Council of Ten (also referred to as the Ten) is the executive governing body and collective Head of State of the Bailiwick. Its members, elected from among the Great Council, are: *The Chancellor of Justice and Keeper of the Seal *The Controller-General of Finances *The Paymaster General *The Councillor of State for Commerce *The Councillor of State for War *The Councillor of State for Educational Affairs *The Councillor of State for Research and Technology *The Councillor of State for Health *The Councillor of State for the Environment *The Councillor of State for Public Works The Bailiff assumes representative functions and is elected from among the Council of Ten, in rotation and for a one-year term. The Estates-General is an extraordinary legislative assembly, sitting on a strictly temporary basis, consisting of 300 elected deputies vested with the authority to review the Instrument of Government. The Estates can only be summoned by an Act of the Great Council. The Admiralty of Conti and the office of Lord High Admiral were established by the Admiralty Act of the 8th October 2009. The Lord High Admiral, appointed for a two-and-half-year term by the Great Council, is responsible for overseeing the administration of the navy in conjunction with the Councillor of State for War. Although predominantly reflecting the parliamentary nature of the Bailiwick’s constitutional system, the Instrument of Government makes provision directed at promoting direct democracy. Citizens can challenge existing legislation via referendum provided a public petition is endorsed by at least 20% of all registered voters. The Guildhall is the seat of government. New Model Army The creation of the New Model Army was prompted by the publication of the 2010 Defence White Paper by the Council of Ten. Two key aspects of the Bailiwick’s military organization in particular were deemed inadequate: 1. An excessive reliance on civic militia and mercenary companies for its security. 2. The long-standing practice of raising temporary armies of paid soldiers in wartime. The recommendations set out in the document were largely transposed into the New Model Army Act adopted by the Great Council on the 9th June 2010. This legislation created the nucleus of Conti’s first standing army, composed of professional soldiers organised into permanent regiments. The Militia was retained, (albeit considerably reduced in size) to support the civic authorities in preserving domestic order. Chartered Companies and the Free City of Saint-Malo The East India Company (EIC) and the West India Company (WIC) were established by an Act of the Great Council on the 5th June 2009. Both corporations have been granted a Charter of Privileges guaranteeing special trading rights with territories lying respectively east and west of the Greenwich Meridian. Conferred privileges include fiscal exemptions aimed at stimulating the growth of trade in raw commodities and securing continuing access to energy supplies, the right to maintain armies, wage war and sign treaties. Ships operated or owned by the IEC and the WIC have the privilege to sail under their company’s house flag in lieu of Conti's merchant ensign. The Brittany Company (BC) was established on the 14th June 2009 by an Act of the Great Council following Conti’s acquisition of Brittany. The company's Charter of Privileges reflects the Bailiwick’s traditional reluctance to commit excessive resources to support its dependencies by effectively privatizing the administration of the new territory. The charter thus facilitated the transfer of government functions to the Brittany Company for a duration of 12 years (thereafter subject to re-evaluation every 3 years) with an explicit mandate to exercise police powers and levy taxes, de facto enabling the company to assume quasi-regal powers nominally attributed to the Great Council. Located on the northern coastline of Brittany, the Free City of Saint-Malo is Conti's major commercial gateway to its mainland dominions administered by the Brittany Company. The City’s growing importance as a trade hub was formally acknowledged by the Great Council when it was granted the right to self-governance and associated privileges of Free City status as defined in the Charter of Liberties of the Free City of Saint-Malo conceded on the 26th July 2009. Per the terms of the charter, the Brittany Company’s rule over Saint-Malo was terminated and replaced by a council of 12 elected members (known as the Corporation of Saint-Malo) entrusted with the government of the City under the leadership of a Lord-Mayor. The document also confines Conti’s involvement in municipal government to prerogatives pertaining to defence and foreign affairs.